“He stepped forward, took a deep breath, and doubled over in a sneezing fit. My werewolf was allergic to tortoises. Why me?”

“How much are you lifting?""Seven hundred."Alrighty then. I will just stand over here, out of your way, and hope you don't remember to kick my ass.He grinned. "Wanna spot me?""No thanks. How about I just scream verbal encouragements at you?" I took a deep breath and barked, "No pain, no gain! That pain is just weakness leaving your body! Come on! Push! Push! Make that weight your bitch!”

“After I chased the werewolf and the vampire out of my office, I changed my clothes.”

“How is it different?"He rolled his head back, sable hair falling down on his shoulders. "With Rose I knew what to say. I could take a step back and talk to her. I remembered all the crap from the magaznies. It was easy.""And with me, it's hard?" Why? Because she was a swamp girl? And how did the magazines fit into it?William looked away from her. "I don't like it when you're away. If I don't see you, I can't settle down. If I see you talking with another man, I want to claw his throat out. And none of the things you're supposed to say fit."Oh, this had to be good. "What sort of things?"He sighed. "The lines. Like, 'You're my everything,' or 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“In there?'She nodded.'You want us to go into the tortoise?'Another nod.'It's alive.'Another nod.”

“Nice plan. Take the gullible outsiders, walk them around for a bit, then feed them to the giant tortoise.”

“You think this is some sort of comedy going on here?” Collins gave him his tough stare.A little red spark flared in Barabas’s eyes. “Excuse me.” He struck with preternatural quickness and yanked a five-foot snake from the counter, an inch away from Tsoi’s elbow. Tsoi jumped, clearing half the room in a single bound. The snake body flailed in my lawyer’s fist. Barabas jerked the snake to his mouth and bit its neck.“Jesus Christ!” Collins took a step back. Tsoi clamped her hand over her mouth.Barabas spat the head onto the counter. “Pit viper—my favorite. Where were we? Ah, yes. You were trying to intimidate me. I apologize for the interruption. Please, resume your staring.”